Saturday, September 04, 2004
RENOVATION TIME
During election times we hear ourselves talking about changes and renovations which are needed in our current elections system to make it easier for more people to vote; to make the voting itself more accurate and efficient, and to incorporate all the nation’s potential voters in all time zone equal opportunities to participate.
Immediately after the election – win or lose – we hear no more about the subject.
The “ins” are, perhaps, too busy trying to recall exactly what they did or did not promise and the “outs”are wondering what went wrong with their plans to outdo the “ins.”Any changes in the manner by which they might have won or lost the election are discarded and will not be considered until another election process shows up obvious weaknesses.
Would some sort of a bi-partisan “Elections Reforms Committee” work?
I rather doubt it. Some of the “errors”in our present system are purposely there because on party or the other sees their being in place as an advantage to their side of the vote. A “committee” to suggest change is such laws has been taken before if rather weakly. What we need to do now to get discussion started, since many of the flaws are deeply party parented, is not a committee, but an officially designated “commission” to look at the situation and not only recommend but require the Congress to approve certain parts, if not all, as recommended. That might put some teeth in the procedure and help bring a few such suggestions become realities.
The system needs unification. The changes to revitalize our elections system vary in different section of the country.. I would be helpful, for instance, if all sections of the country had identical registration rules and regulations. Do you remember what you had to do in order to register to vote? Most of us do not. As I recall, rather vaguely, I had to appear before a local official, who also owned our local drug-soda fountain I signed my name on blank sheet of white paper and printed my address and my date of birth in block letters. What became of that page of vital statistics I never knew, but I've voted ever since in various areas.
Another change that appears to be needed is some way of allowing voter in the extreme ends of our nation from being influenced by the already-balloted East. The East has long accused the Western state of climbing on board the wagon of whichever party seems to be winning in the East. It becomes especially troublesome when such a western state then claims to have been the one group which won the election for the party involved, hence they demand, and get leadership roles within the party.
Reforms, are in order to regulate the actual time of voting; once again due to the size of our extended nation in modern times.
There are many others, and prominent among them, always, is the argument asking for the total elimination of the Electoral College concept in our government.
Let's get a suitably empowered federal commission to work on these and other potential modifications before it is too late. Weaknesses, denied and left untreated, sap the very soul out of any living body.
A.L.M. September 3, 2004 [c552wds]
Friday, September 03, 2004
FEAR!
Our President, George W. Bush, spoke of “Freedom from fear”in his nomination acceptance speech before the Republican National Convention. I remember that topic being touched upon by another great President of our nation – F.D.R. He aroused us to a new understandings of the “fear”, if you recall
We were unaware of the eventually obvious fact hat were,at that time, in rather desperate need of such encouragement in those Nazi-ridden times. Roosevelt, as a strong leader of men, realized our extreme need of encouragement a the time - a phase in which when we had several quasi-uniformed groups who were actively opposing the basic principles of our government and extolling that of Hitler's';s Germany with others favoring Joseph Stalin's U.S.S.R. Such groups - “bunds” and and others who wore distinctive silver shirts as a symbol of their collaboration intentions, mystic or quasi-religious designations which would solve the nation's problems. Today, our president warns us of such dangerous groups as the Taliban, El Quida, the fundamentalist Muslim fringes and unthinking collaborators within our own people who go along with such groups and work to destroy our way of life. We are in special need of reminders because our enemy – called “Terrorists” cannot always be identified with certainty.
Our need is real. It is urgent.
It is high time our President speaks out strongly against that fear which, again, grips far too many people among us today. Franklin Roosevelt “our greatest fear was fear itself”. In many of the intervening years, we have suffered a loss of self-discipline at both national and stet governmental levels which is
“catching up with us. Negative attitudes are favored . Company standards of morality are openly scorned and have, even in the highest place, been redefined and corrupted openly. Basics of our social associations have given way to lust, avarice, greed, and the fringes of treason. We are beset by confusing, meaningless labels in which some who would ,purposely, speed up the decline of our governmental structures call themselves “Liberals.” In truth, they, often manifestations of the same misguided principles which caused F.D.R. to condemn them by name in his time ...and label them all as fearful wrongs.
I cringe when I hear “the hero of Chappaquiddick” publically and repeatedly call our President “a liar.” Something is amiss when that sort of thing is common in our political life. Such individual, by their slurs, show they are running afraid.
Fear kills Reason.
A.L.M. September 2, 2004 [c417wds]
Thursday, September 02, 2004
HAT SIZES
It has been found that Neanderthal Man had a greater brain capacity than ours. The important factor,of course, is not size but quality of the contents and we have been confused as to what use N-Man made of his larger brain-box..
A marked disservice has been done Neanderthal Man man from the moment he was first discovered in the Neander Valley in Germany. They were a leading Stone Age people over much of the world. The “scientists”of a by-gone era, whom we think should have known better, did not realize that the specimen they were examining was the remains of an old man who had suffered from arthritis to the max 'n other debilitating diseases and, in all likelihood, possible skeletal malformations to start with severe or injury in his younger years.
N-Man has, over the years, had a “poor press.” Scientists continued pass down the same basic information even after discovery of other Neander relic proved some of it be untrue. No one likes to argue with anyone who claims to have been first to say, do or think anything. It became evident, for instance, that the first specimen examined was indeed that of an old man – of probably as much as twenty years or so and that he had lived an arthritic and other wise harsh existence for his alloted one score of years.
Seen in his true condition we can appreciate more of what N-man achieved. He was hunter-scavenger, he lived in natural caves, crevices, behind cliff sides to escape wind and foul weather, even built crude walls of piled up rocks to ward off worst attacks of Nature's wrath. Evidence has been found that he also buried his dead, which as an early sign of progress in a world where scavenger animals promptly removed anything thrown aside. Neander men buried most often in cave floors where a pit was scooped out and filled with fresh grass and greenery. The body was placed upon the mat of grass and handfuls of flowers, covered the corpse. The dirt and rock pounded down securely.
Our total knowledge about such early men, is fragmentary, of course. The world proved to be rough place for such men and they did not endure long. One reason - other than the cataclysmic, world-shaker, era-enders used to explain away the death of dinasours centuries earlier – is simple. The extra large size of the Neanderthal infant's head and the pelvic structure of the females were, perhaps a major cause of death among N-man infants and Mothers. We do not know for sure what caused their demise. Unfortunately they have lived in the public mind as a brutish, short and ugly cartoon-like character caused by mis-reading of evident by “experts” of a later time – those who who miss-read the facts about the very first such body found.
We might resolve to look carefully, today at whatever interests us, to to be sure our understanding we have of it is based on fact rather than half-baked conjecture.
Question even the best of so-called authority on the subject. And, we might do well to remember, as we learn, that brain capacity can be costly when exalted. We all need to check our hat size from time-to-time see that it remains constant.
. September 1, 2004 [c557wds] A.L.M
Wednesday, September 01, 2004
ETHANOL FUMES
It has been quite a while since we have seen any news coverage concerning the possible use of ethanol as one means of solving our fuel shortage and associated high costs problems. There was time when it was made to way out. Were we mis-lead or were we oversold?
Ethanol is still being made. In fact, the manufacturing of ethanol, in its many forms, show a steady increase. The era still numerous ways to spell the term but the major “spell checkers” services seem to have agreed on ethanol and excluded the dozen or so other ways of translating plentiful green plants into gasoline to move our cars along rather than costly barrels of crude.
Just and a few weeks ago a tanker flying the Singapore, sank about fifty miles off Chincoteague, Virginia. It was carrying a load of 3.5 million gallon of industrial ethanol from Linden, New Jersey to Houston, Texas One might assume that mean the product was moving from a Garden State point where it had been manufactured to a place in The Lone Starr state where it would be put to industrial use. Crude petroleum would be moving exactly the opposite direction.. The 570 foot long craft suffered an explosion which has, as yet, not been explained. The tanker took on water fast and did a dramatic photo-genie demise in which the bow was under water and the stern rearing high into the air as it continued to burn.
The U .S. Coast Guard Group on the Eastern Shore of Virginia got the “May Day” call promptly . The foreign accent voice sounded urgent and fearfully used the term which chills any fuel tanker sailor or rescue worker:”We are on fire!” The Coast Guard had a C -130 and several Jayhawk helicopters and on one HH-65 Dolphin helicopter with extra burn victim medical gear. The 85 foot Coast Guard Albacore cutter was diverted from the mouth of the Delaware River and sent on the way to the emergency scene.
A mere three and half million gallons of ethanol doesn't sound like a tremendous amount, does it? But it does indicate that commercial tankers are transporting such stocks on regular schedules. In general, we find little in the media to let us be aware of it being used, but it is , obviously, being produced and applied to our industrial needs.
One hears rumors that Ethanol is widely used in many of our gasoline formulations:”to keep octane rating high.” If it is a common practice the media needs to inform motorists and to clarify the use of ethanol as an additive.
One would think, as our gasoline problems continue to worsen, that we would be examining ethanol with special care. It seems to be a potential substitute which could be put to far more than at the present time. If the scientist community agrees that Ethanol is harmful to automotive engines – as some still insist it can be – then the media might do well to participate in seeing that it is banned.
,.
One thing is sure. We can't have it both ways!
A.L.M. August 31, 2004 [c529wds]
Tuesday, August 31, 2004
POWER
In listening to electioneering talk on TV, I often am told that the main reason for a man to enter politics is a desire for power.
It seems logical to assume that the man, or woman who seeks to lead a group of people, even an entire nation, certainly must be aware of the fact that, in doing so, he or she must have authority and the ability to move people in support of his ideas or of those of the political party he heads or represents. A man without such a means of activating his beliefs would be tragic from the start.
Power in the telling is often depicted as bad thing. That is not true. The mis-use of power is one of the avenues to avoid. It very much in keeping with our common expression about money. It is the love of money which leads to trouble rather than the money itself. The same is said of pride. We are encouraged to take pride in our accomplishments but to be sure it is not false pride, which condemns us to exile from proper society.
It should not be too difficult to look at our present presidential candidates to see how important power is to each of them. We may , as free citizens, disagree as to which man will best handle such power and authority which election hands to him. We have seen sufficient evidence in the past to realize that individuals can see such things in various lights and much which seems proper, or acceptable, to one can also be deemed to have been improper in the eyes of fellow citizens who don't see things in the same color, light and texture as other happen to see them. I, personally, have always been able to feel that – having been duly elected – the man chosen deserve to have, at least, an extended honeymoon period is which we all agree too his use of his newly gained powers to lead all of us to unified goals.. Properly chosen, he is the leader for all of us and his power should be should be respected and obeyed for the common good of all, until such time as he appears to have failed to make proper use of such a treasure. I feel perfectly at ease, then, to oppose him in the next election but until such a time arrives, he remains legally “our” president and should be respected as such, save conditions in which he has grossly disobeyed the trust we placed in him as a voting body which can, if the needs be noted, cut off his power as quickly as it was granted.
The two major candidates have each staked out the areas in which they are making their bid for gaining the powers of being President of our nation. Senator John Kerry in running his record as a veteran of the Viet Nam War and seeks the power to head the nation in opposition to our recent problems. Incumbent President George W. Bush cites his record of service to the nation in bringing about strong, prompt retaliation against Terrorist foes following 9-11. In a limited sense, it may be seen as a contest to see who will be Commander-in-Chief of our Armed Forces.
I have a disquieting idea that this current election been “simplified” to meet the need of an electorate which does not comprehend - much less understand - the complexities of the dire problems which face our nation during this first potentially tragic first decade of the new century. I have a strong feeling also that those people held to be aware of the potential for the rest of the decade are, even now, aware of the threat of a world-wide religious war in the making. Dumbing down an election to suit the electorate's capabilities is, I feel, wrong, but it has been done and it will be interesting to see how our ultimate fate is to be determined in November of 2004.
A.L.M . August 30, 2004 [c680wds]
Monday, August 30, 2004
OUR PORTRAIT
The picture people all around the world are getting this week would seem to justify the use of the term “the ugly American”.
We, here at home may not see it exactly as foreigners do.
We say the United States won over a hundred medals at the Summer Olympic Summer games and list them proudly as gold, silver and bronze. Reports in other lands suggest we gobbled up all the awards, “as usual”. Trickery, deceit and dishonesty were suggested. The results overall, are often seen in a slightly different light among most competing nations because of judging errors.
The Olympic Games are over, and with little protest from dissident groups, and the media's emphasis has shifted to the political scene in the United States. While the Republicans are in convention assembled in New York City, the Democrats will run riot in the streets. “527-groups” the Democrats have been scorning are, this week, given full support and funding as they march through New York's streets in vocal and muscular opposition to our government and our duly elected leaders.
The picture the average citizens of most foreign nations will be getting is severely warped and a notable infringement on our efforts to improve the international image of our nation.
To TV viewers the world over, this type of presentation abets their feeling that we are nation divided against itself in many way; that we are vulnerable to their most childish tactic and unable to defend ourselves if pushed to combat because of intense divisions at home. We are being pictured as a forlorn group of nincompoops. Promoters of the protesters give viewers the impression that all of those roaming the streets are people who oppose Bush, when, in truth, scores of those present are not politically oriented at all. Some are chronic, habitually marcher-protesters; others are supporters of Ralph Nader, a man many predict will wean five per cent of votes away from John Kerry. Watch for the number of posters which call attention to affair other than the election. I cannot miss to see the political import of the sign-holder who's big letters proclaim: “I pee on Bushes!” but I think sort of conduct, shall we say, unseemly. Certainly our opposition is up to, at least, the level that sort of sign suggests might be the norm.
In listening to some of these demonstrators attempting to voice their avowed convictions when interviewed by TV street people, I wondered if many of them do not have a difficulty which turned up far too often in the Athens Olympic games this past week - a dependency on drugs to see them though the ordeal of incompetent performance and some inept individuals serving as judges.
This week America is on stage! We are being exhibited world-wide!
What kind of picture should we be presenting?
A.L.M. August 29, 2004 [c480wds]
Sunday, August 29, 2004
TAKE YOUR CHOICE
If you could choose the one time in which you would have most liked to have lived your life, what would it be? What one time; what era would you select?
Most people, when asked that question, start at once to classify various times according to what seemed to have been important then, such as peace, war, exploration, adventure, romance, wealth pr,perhaps, travel by river, sea, ocean ,or, more recently space into unknown worlds.
Many come to realize at regardless of which time is decided upon it will not prove to be easy. Nothing that Mankind undertakes is ever as easy as he thinks it might be. Results of any kind come about through the injection of energy. The world is forever congested elements of change, which becomes apparent in many forms. The most common is, perhaps, what we call “wartime” when the confusion boils to the surface in all of it puzzling complexities. We also have times of diversionary “peace”which appears as pauses in the momentarily quiet sequence of warlike aberrations.
All eras have been, and will be, demand the human will to work be activated.. Perhaps you can visualize yourself going back to becoming a well-bred, moneyed, Deep South Plantation owner with hundreds of acres of fine land and servants to do your bidding at every turn. Unless you know how to produce exceptional products and to be able to market them wisely in a complex, world-wide system of turning crops into cash, you are doomed to failure and unhappiness with your chosen lot. Others will take a stand at the opposite extreme and see HDT's “Walden Pond” as scripture inviting them into a world apart from Man. There are many such utopia plans which have caused devotees to avoid other humans as much as possible. That equation, however, seems to me to fail to support the quality of “happiness” which is one of the true keystone for most of us intent on building a better life. other men is to avoid them as much as possible. That equation, however, seems to me to fail to support “happiness” which is the true keystone for most of us intent on building a better life.
In such plan we search for something which we cannot even describe in detail. We are anticipating a place where perfection will be obtained and yet every indication we have yet had tells us such conditions do not exist.
Best be content with what we have or, at least, a simplified version of it all. We need to be thankful for goodness which fill large portions of our lives. The only true pathway to the perfection we seek, idealistically, is to learn, now, to accent the good of being and to exclude that which does not work for betterment.
For all who do that: the best time to live is now.
. A.L.M. August 28, 2004 [c486wds]
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